Knife Edge

'The Noughts & Crosses series are still my favourite books of all time and showed me just how amazing story-telling could be' STORMZY 'Malorie's Noughts & Crosses series is the first time I saw myself in a book . . . they were pacey, exciting, rich. What Malorie Blackman has always done so brilliantly is put the minority front and centre, both in society and politics.' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS 'The most original book I've ever read' BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH 'Malorie Blackman is absolutely amazing ... [Noughts & Crosses] really spoke to me, especially as a woman of dual heritage.' ZAWE ASHTON ----- No one could begin to guess at the depth of the hatred I held for Sephy Hadley. Everything began with her and my brother. And that's how it would end. Where there has been love, now there is hate. Two families have been shattered by the divided and violent society they live in. Sephy Hadley - a Cross, supposedly powerful and privileged - has bound herself forever to her nought lover Callum McGregor's family. But Jude McGregor blames Sephy for all the tragedies his family has suffered. And he is determined to force her to take sides, and destroy her life . . . just like she destroyed his. . . Voted as one of the UK's best-loved books, Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses series is a seminal piece of YA fiction; a true modern classic.

Devastatingly powerful * The Guardian * Moving and thought-provoking * Observer * Blackman's absorbing but alarming novel deals with themes of racism and prejudice...Unforgettable * Independent * Stimulating and emotionally satisfying * Financial Times * A gritty read for older children . . . At times this is a beautiful love story; at other times it is a harrowing and moral tale... * Bookseller * Packs some powerful political punches...But Blackman never compromises the story, which is dramatic, moving and brave * Guardian * Inter-racial teenage love has never been more painful -- Amanda Craig * The Times *.

Reviews

Malorie Blackman has written over seventy books for children and young adults, including the Noughts & Crosses series, Thief and a science-fiction thriller, Chasing the Stars. Many of her books have also been adapted for stage and television, including a BAFTA-award-winning BBC production of Pig-Heart Boy and a Pilot Theatre stage adaptation by Sabrina Mahfouz of Noughts & Crosses. There is also a major BBC production of Noughts & Crosses, with Roc Nation (Jay-Z's entertainment company) curating the soundtrack as executive music producer. In 2005 Malorie was honoured with the Eleanor Farjeon Award in recognition of her distinguished contribution to the world of children's books. In 2008 she received an OBE for her services to children's literature, and between 2013 and 2015 she was the Children's Laureate. Most recently Malorie wrote for the Doctor Who series on BBC One, and the fifth novel in her Noughts & Crosses series, Crossfire, was published by Penguin Random House Children's in summer 2019.